Alone
by Lisardo
Summary: Donatello meets a girl while in disguise and they take a shine to each other. But because he's different, he's not sure how to handle the relationship. He goes to his fellow turtles and Splinter for advice, but he learns the unfortunate truth.


**Alone**

Disclaimer: I donnot own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They belong to Eastman & Laird and Mirage Studios.

Author's Note: Not the first fanfic I've written, but first complete fic that I felt comfortable enough to upload. But I'm still new at writing to please be kind, ;)

Donatello returned to the lair, dressed in his trenchcoat and human mask. He was trying to avoid the others. He felt so confused, not knowing what to think about the whole situation he had just come from up topside. However it was hard for Donatello to hide his somber face as he walked in. Raph caught a glimpse of him.

"Hey Donatello, what's up?"

"Uh, not much." Donatello said trying to avoid looking at him.

It didn't work.

"Boy you seem gloomy."

"Yeah dude, that's not like the Donatello I know!" Michaelangelo added.

"I'm fine." He simply responded.

"Yeah right!" Raphael remarked.

"Donatello, please tell us." Splinter said, also not fooled by Donatello.

Reluctantly, Donatello proceeded to tell the whole story.

"Well you see, recently I sorta bumped into this woman. We got to talking and she told me she's a writer, a columnist for the local newspaper. I told her I worked for a local newsstand and that I sold newspapers all the time. I also told her that it gave me a good chance to keep up on my reading. Though I knew of her because I had read some of her columns before and rather enjoyed them. So I guess one thing lead to another and afterwards she sorta became interested in me. But we do actually have a lot of common interests."

"Woah dude, sounds heavy! Michaelangelo responded.

"I know. But here's the hard part. She asked me up to her place just a little while ago. I shrugged it off of course, making up some lamb excuse as to why I couldn't."

"What'd you tell her?" Raphael asked.

"Oh nothing much. I told her that I thought maybe it wasn't very professional to do that."

"Not very professional? Come on Donatello, you don't work with her!" Raphael yelled shocked.

"Hey I said it was a 'lamb' excuse didn't I? It's just that before we had been talking shop for quite some time. I figured this was the best excuse I could use. Sofar it worked." Donatello paused for a second and gulped. "But the only trouble is she invited me to go have lunch with her sometime. I told her I'd think about it and left it at that. She also gave me her phone number."

"Wow man, you're doing really good here!" Michaelangelo remarked. "You outta go for it."

"Whattya mean? I can't! She's a human. And I'm…..sigh…..a turtle." Donatello spoke as if his hopes and dreams just floated away from him. "As soon as she'd take one look at me, the real me, she'd freak and I'd break her heart."

"Unfortunately, he is right." Splinter regrettably agreed.

"Oh come on Master Splinter! Why can't we meet girls once and a while?" Mike asked annoyed.

"You know why. Donatello himself just said it. We're all different."

"I know, but you can't expect us to be lonely the rest of our lives!"

"Michaelagelo, I'm sorry but I'm afraid you have no choice. It has been my regret for many years that all of us would be doomed to be alone. The human world would not accept us, nor would they understand us. Let alone date us!"

"How can you say that master? April accepted us and understands the struggles we go through. She's been there thru thick and thin." Donatello remarked.

"Indeed. April is the one and only human that is your true friend. But not many other humans would not be so kind and understanding as she has. Remember my pupils, I once was a human and I know how difficult humans can be. They fear what they don't understand. Don't you remember what happened to me when I became a human temporarily? They screamed and tried to hunt me down. All the more reason I came to appreciate being an animal."

All of them turned depressed and looked down to the ground with gloomier faces than Donatello's.

Raphael suddenly turned bitter. "Then why bother helping humans the way we do, if they won't even accept us!"

"Because it's in your blood to do the right thing. You were trained that way. It's what you do. You're the _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_." However Splinter's stern goody-goodness did not convince them.

"Well maybe we're sick of being _Mutant Ninja Turtles_. We just want to be normal teenagers!" Michaelangelo yelled

"I already told you why you cannot."

"I don't care! It's just not fair!"

Michaelangelo stormed off into the sewers, riding on his cheapstake. Raphael simply walked into another room. Donatello and Splinter just stood there for a moment. Splinter noticed his son's hopeless look on his face.

"Donatello I'm sorry. I know how much you like this girl."

"It's ok master. Perhaps in another life." Donatello put on a fake, half-smile as he turned from Splinter.

Donatello walked to his lab and Splinter looked at him in such despair as he walked off. In truth, he hated to deny his sons of a normal life, one filled with love perhaps. That is the reason for their training all those years: partially to ease their pain of never having a normal life. But he knew how hard it was being the age they were. Despite their desolation, he only hoped that in the time the turtles would learn to accept their fate.


End file.
